Hi,

I have posted this question on two other threads with no reply yet, but I am just learning how to use this rather fancy (but useful) website. The question is why do not rodders use Rhoads lifters (Crane sells them too) to get good low speed mileage as well as high rpm performance. For instance in a stock SBC-350 one could use Rhoads lifters with headers and Edelbrock Performer intake with a Comp Cam XE268 cam and realize the full benefit of the 268 cam over 3500 rpm while gaining better city mileage with what might effectively be a 256 degree cam below 2500 rpm? Before I make a mistake and try this I would like to know why more rodders don't use variable lifters. Two answers come to mind. First some people actually want the rumpity-rough idle for effect. Second maybe anyone who wants to occasionally race their car is worried about tech inspection for an illegal cam reading. However, with the price of gas being what it is today, I would think a variable cam engine yielding better mileage would be worth living without a rough idle. I would like to hear from someone who has tried Rhoads lifters in a SBC and ask whether they are noisy and whether one must use a stock pressure oil pump to avoid lifter pumpup too early. I would like to use Rhoads lifters in a mild SBC-350 on the street in a fiberglass 29 fendered roadster. If they do't work it should be easier to change the lifters with the engine in the car than to change the cam by pulling the engine from a tight compartment or removing the radiator, but it would be nice to get it right on the first try.

Don Shillady